A trip to Pompeii

On our recent short break to Sorrento, my husband and I took a trip to Pompeii. And it was one of the most incredible places I’ve ever visited.

As I’m sure you know, the Roman city of Pompeii was buried under huge quantities of volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. It lay undiscovered until the 16th century, then major excavations began in the mid-18th century. Many of the finds were damaged and items stolen in the early excavation works and it was largely left to decay until the 1960s. Excavation work started again in 2018 and even more discoveries were made. About a third of the site is still to be excavated. When we visited, areas were closed off and people were hard at work inside some of the buildings.

Pompeii would have been home to between 10,00 and 20,000 people. It is a complete city, with public buildings, homes and gardens, which show a clear difference between the lives of the rich and the poorer members of the community. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the only archaeological site in the world which provides a complete picture of life in a Roman city.

Pompeii attracted nearly four million visitors in 2023 and gets very busy in the peak season. From 15th November 2024, visitor numbers are capped at 20,000 a day. This follows a record high 36,000 visitors in one day at the start of October 2024. Reducing the number of visitors is essential for conservation and safety reasons. In reality, numbers rarely exceed 20,000 – usually only on the first Sunday of the month (when entry is free) and a handful of other days. But if you plan to visit in the peak season, it makes sense to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Pompeii is located about halfway between Sorrento and Naples. We got the train from Sorrento. The station is very conveniently placed opposite the site.

We booked our entrance tickets online in advance. There are various sites to choose from. You can also buy tickets on arrival. We read that we should take our passports with us, then totally forgot. We were slightly worried that we would be turned away, but they didn’t check ID. The information provided in advance also said you can’t take large bags in with you. I think my rucksack was slightly bigger than the dimensions they gave, so I thought I might have to leave it in the baggage area, but they didn’t even look at it. I suspect some of these rules might be applied more rigorously when it’s busy.

Although it wasn’t heaving, there was still a lot of people there, considering it was November.

We also picked up an audio guide for 8 euros. We did need to hand over a piece of ID in exchange for this. Luckily my husband had his driving license with him. Audio guides are two for 13 euros and any additional guides are currently charged at 6,50 each. They do different versions for children. The guide is actually a knackered old Samsung phone. I didn’t bother getting one myself, as my hearing isn’t great and they don’t come with headphones. My husband listened and gave me a commentary. Just about the only thing I listened to myself was hilarious – about a small booth with penises on it. Archaeologists believe a prostitute would have worked from here.

A lot of people were there with tour guides. I assume they had gone on organised trips.

Pompeii is HUGE. We got off the train at 11am and got back on at 3pm. In that time, we saw a lot, but we definitely didn’t see everything. I must admit that, even though I absolutely loved it, after four hours I was getting tired, and was happy to go back to get the train.

Of course, there are fences and gates restricting some access and some of buildings have had wooden and metal lintels added to keep them stable. Some buildings have metal roofs over them to protect frescoes from the elements, but largely buildings are as untouched as possible.

Everything about Pompeii is stunning – from the sheer scale of some of the buildings and columns to the preservation of the artworks. The colours are still vibrant and the images are still very clear. It blows my mind that a) the society was so civilised and they were able to build these buildings between around 400 BC and 200 BC and b) that it could all have been lost so thoroughly for so long. The mind boggles at just how deep the ash must have been to cover all these columns.

There were bodies found, of course. The actual bodies aren’t on display, but there are some re-creations, made from casts in the spaces the bodies were in.

In a site full of stunning things, the amphitheatre is possibly the most incredible. It’s kind of like the Colosseum, but apparently better preserved. You can’t go up on the seating, but you can go into the centre and appreciate the sheer size of it. It is accessed by a tunnel and is apparently six metres below ground level The excavated material was then used to create the banked seating. The way spectators would have accessed their seats is still the same way people get to their seats in modern stadia. Although there are no fights to the death at Wembley!

In terms of practicalities… Pompeii isn’t really suitable for people with mobility problems, children in buggies or young children who can’t walk very far. The roads are mainly built from uneven rocks, which are quite hard to walk on (part of the reason I was feeling tired and ready to leave after four hours). There was one cafe/ coffee shop serving drinks and basic lunches. There were toilets in the cafe and I believe one other set of toilets elsewhere on the site.

If you get the chance to visit Pompeii, I really can’t recommend it highly enough.